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SkillsAncestral Skills
Ancestral Skills are alternate versions of existing skills in your skill tree. By earning Ancestral Skill Points, you can choose to replace your normal skills with these alternate versions, allowing for new skill combinations, strategies, and fighting styles. Each character can earn (and use) a maximum of seven Ancestral Skill Points, allowing for up to seven alternate skills at once. These points can be re-assigned to select new skills at any time for a small fee, similar to normal skill points.

(For the Ancestral skills shown below, only the differences have been listed. All other aspects of the alternate skill are the same as the original, unless otherwise noted.)

Ancestral Battlerage
Lightning Triple Slash

Increases attack speed, but only affects one target for all three attacks.

Quake Triple Slash

Mana Cost increased from 9 -> 12

Melee Attack coefficient increased from 130% -> 230%

Reduces attack speed, but each attack affects all enemies within 3m of the primary target.

Attack the same target three times in a row. (Normally attacks up to 5 targets one time each.)

Life Tiger Strike

Cooldown increased from 18sec -> 28sec

Grants immunity to all harmful effects while using Tiger Strike.

Ancestral Witchcraft
Lightning Earthen Grip

Cast Time reduced from 1sec -> 0.5sec (Yes, this means the Illusion’s Favor passive will make it instant-cast.)

Range reduced from 20m -> 15m

Quake Earthen Grip

Mana Cost increased from 132 -> 176

Range is now an 8m radius around the caster. (Normally a 20m range.)

Snares all enemies within 8m. (Normally only snares 1 target.)

Gale Bubble Trap

Range reduced from 20m -> 12m

Cooldown reduced from 39sec -> 21sec

Mist Bubble Trap

Now has a 4m radius area of effect at the target location. (Normally on affects one target.)

Summons a mist at the target location for 15 seconds, affecting all enemies within a 4m radius. Enemies caught within the mist’s area of effect are trapped in Bubble Traps for 9.4sec.

(If a Bubble ends naturally or is burst due to an attack, the target will often fall back down into the mist. This means it is possible to catch an enemy multiple times with the same casting of Mist Bubble Trap.)

This skill no longer combos with Burning or Shocked targets.

Mist Banshee Wail

Now has a 5m radius area of effect at the target location. (Normally 5m around caster.)

Summons a Phantasm at the target location for 6 seconds, inflicting fear on all enemies within 5m every second. Affected enemies are Feared for up to 4.3sec, then Stunned for 2sec afterward.

The duration of this skills Fear effect is not affected by the caster’s passive skills.

(The Phantasm is a stationary summoned unit that can be killed.)

Stone Banshee Wail

Now reduces affected enemies’ Move Speed -40% for the duration.

Affected enemies are no longer stunned after the fear ends.

Ancestral Defense
Gale Shield Slam

Base damage reduced -20%

Melee Attack coefficient reduced from 130% -> 50%

Cooldown reduced from 18sec -> 4sec

This skill now Interrupts the target, canceling all Cast Time, Channeled, and Ongoing skills.

No longer stuns the target.

Quake Shield Slam

Mana Cost increased from 138 -> 183

Now affects all enemies in a 6m cone in front of the caster. (Normally only affects one target.)

Cooldown increased from 18sec -> 45sec

Swings your shield in an arc, stunning all enemies in a 6m cone for 2.6sec.

Fires a single powerful Flamebolt at the enemy. (Normally allows up to 3 Flamebolts)

No longer combos with Enervate.

No Cast Time if used while under the effects of Drop Back.

Lightning Flamebolt

Mana Cost increased from 16 -> 24

Magic Attack coefficient reduced from 209% -> 80%

Cast Time reduced from 1sec -> Instant

Cooldown increased from 0sec -> 2sec

Fire three bolts of electricity at a single target. (Unlike normal Flamebolt, all three lightning bolts are fired from one cast of this spell.)

Bolt 1: Inflicts Shock for 8sec

Bolt 3: Returns 20% of damage dealt to enervated targets as mana.

All three bolts do +12% additional damage to Shocked targets.

No Cooldown if used while under the effects of Drop Back.

Flame Chain Lightning

Inflicts Consuming Flames on a single target, which deals damage after a 2 second delay and then travels to another enemy within 5m. This effect repeats up to 4 times, inflicting 25% greater damage each time.

Summons a massive thunderbolt at the target location, dealing damage to all enemies within its area of effect. Also inflicts Greater Shock on all affected enemies, dealing additional damage over time and dramatically slowing their move and attack speeds for 8sec.

If used while backstabbing, grants +100% to all Critical Rates for the next skill used.

Lightning Overwhelm

Range reduced from 10m -> 6m

Triggers a leap directly over an enemy’s head, dealing damage as you pass and then continuing on to and 10m past them.

Mist Drop Back

Triggers a forward leap to escape a dangerous area of close the distance between you and an enemy. (That’s it. No other changes on this one.)

Wave Drop Back

Grants the Wave Drop Back buff, eliminating the Cast Time for Concussive Arrow, Mend, and Critical Discord for 2.5sec when used. (Normally grants a buff for Flame Bolt, Earthen Grip, and Sunder Earth.)

Lightning Shadowsmite

Range increased from 4m -> 6m

This skill no longer inflicts Shackle.

Teleports behind an enemy within 6m and attempts to backstab them with a normal Shadowsmite attack.

Mist Shadowsmite

This skill trips provoked targets. (Normally trips stunned targets.)

Ancestral Songcraft
Wave Critical Discord

Charms an enemy for 24sec, making them more susceptible to other Songcraft effects. (Normally stuns for 2sec, then charms for 28sec.)

Life Startling Strain

Magically improves the Perform skills of the caster or a chosen ally, increasing their song’s beneficial effects +30% for 28sec. (No longer charms or stuns enemies.)

Wave Healing Hymn

Plays a revitalizing song that instantly restores a party member’s mana +278. This effect can travel to another 2 party members within 10m, excluding you and pets. Can continue to be transferred up to 3 times.

No longer heals allies.

Stone Healing Hymn

Plays a beguiling song that Charms an enemy for 8sec, making them more susceptible to other Songcraft skill effects. This effect can travel to another 2 enemies within 10, excluding pets. Can continue to be transferred up to 3 times.

No longer heals allies.

Stone Alarm Call

Cast time changed from Instant -> Channeled

Play an entrancing song, inflicting Sleep on all enemies within a 9m radius for up to 9sec.

Spell ends early if channeling is canceled or the caster moves, instantly awakening its targets.

(Awakened enemies will be immediately put back sleep if the spell is still being channeled. But be careful: repeatedly waking/sleeping an enemy in this manner will quickly grant them Sleep Immunity.)

Life Alarm Call

Removes 1 harmful effect every 3sec from every party member within a 9m radius. Lasts 15sec.

Counts as an ongoing spell, but is canceled if another skill is used.

Ancestral Vitalism
Quake Antithesis

Mana Cost increased from 315 -> 420

Healing Power coefficient reduced from 440% -> 320%

Base Healing reduced -37%

Base Damage reduced -40%

Instantly restores Health to all allies within a 6m radius of the primary target, and deals damage to enemies in the same area.

Life Antithesis

Range increased from 25m -> 30m

This skill has a longer range than regular Antithesis, but cannot be used to damage enemies.

No longer combos with Charm.

Flame Skewer

Mana Cost reduced from 1232 -> 840

Summons skewers to impale all enemies within a 5m radius at the target location. (Does not summon overlapping circles like regular Skewer.)

Can be used up to 3 times in a row without casting delay, but the damage is reduced on consecutive casts.

Life Skewer

Mana Cost reduced from 1232 -> 867

Healing Power coefficient reduced -47%

Cast Time reduced from 2.1sec -> Instant

Cooldown increased from 18sec -> 28sec

Summons four skewers within a 20m circle at the target location, impaling enemies for 2.6 seconds and restoring Health to allies. Skewers heal twice as much where they overlap.

Impales enemies, but no longer damages them.

Flame Fervent Healing

Mana Cost increased from 116 -> 488

Healing Power coefficient reduced from 140% -> 40%

Base Healing increased +55%

Cast Time increased from Instant -> 4sec (At maximum channeling time)

Cooldown increased from 10sec -> 30sec

Restores Health every second for up to 25sec for you or an ally.

Using this skill begins a 4sec channeled cast time. The longer you channel, the longer the healing effect will last once the spell is cast. Use the skill again while channeling to cast the spell early.

Lightning Fervent Healing

Mana Cost increased from 116 -> 155

Cooldown removed

Instantly restores Health to your or an ally.

This skill has no Cooldown, but the Mana cost increases by +50% of the base Mana cost per cast.

A Note from the Editors: New Skill Keywords

A Note from the Editors: New Skill Keywords
In our ongoing attempt to clarify the lesser-known mechanics of ArcheAge, the localization team has added a handful of new keywords and explanatory text to the skill tooltips in this update. You will notice them in many existing skills, as well as a few new Ancestral Skills. A brief explanation of each has been provided below.

Ongoing Skills: These are skills that must be actively maintained, but do not require channeling. The most well-known examples of Ongoing skills are probably the Songcraft Perform skills, but others exist: Float, Crippling Mire, and Alarm Call, to name a few.

Ongoing skills are unique in that they often allow the caster to move or use additional skills while maintaining them, but they will end early if interrupted by a disabling effect like trip, stun, or fear. This puts them in a different category than normal buffs or debuffs, which last for their entire duration regardless of what happens to the caster.

Stagger: While not a true debuff, Stagger briefly stops the target’s movement and cancels all Cast Time and Channeling skills. This effect can currently be inflicted using Wallop, Dahuta's Breath, Boneyard, or Concussive Arrow (both the regular and Ancestral versions.)

Interrupt: Applies a 1sec debuff that cancels all Cast Time, Channeled, and Ongoing skills. This effect will not interrupt movement (like Stagger does), but it will cancel Ongoing skills, which Stagger cannot.

Interrupt often appears in skills with other disabling effects, like Leech or Stillness. But when using those skills, it is important to remember that each debuff applies separately. (Meaning even if someone is immune to Sleep, you can still use Leech to inflict Interrupt and cancel a skill mid-cast.)

EDIT: Adjusted the description of the Stagger effect to better reflect in-game functionality. (It stops movement, cast time, and channeled skills.) In-game tooltips will be updated with new text shortly.